Arsenal lose Patrick Vieira

This morning the Italian were reporting leaks of a 13.5m pound deal. Now it’s real. French international midfielder Patrick Vieira is a Gunner no more.

The guard has changed at Arsenal. It’s a shift that I thought would happen with the retirement of Dennis Bergkamp. Next to Thierry Henry I considered Vieira Arsenal’s most important player. After last season, when he turned down Real Madrid, I thought he was going to stay a while. When I heard the rumors about Juventus I thought they were ridiculous.
I’ve enjoyed watching Vieira playing for Arsenal; I hate to see him leave.

I can only hope Arsene Wenger has a way to fill the gap Edu and Vieira have left. Flamini is no Fabregas, and Fabregas is not yet a Patrick Vieira. He is the one holding player which allowed Arsenal to play their style more consistently than anyone else. Fabregas has only had a season in the Premiership and has played above his years but has a long way to go to replace Vieira’s ball winning skills.

Juventus are every bit the team that didn’t sell Trezeguet to Chelsea. The quotes coming from the club said they were not selling, they were in fact buying, and they were true. This will improve Juve’s chances in the Champions League, a place Arsenal has not succeeded.

AC Milan when bought Vieira as a teenager from French club Cannes. From AC Milan Vieira joined Arsenal.

He returns to Italy a seasoned world class veteran player. Good luck Patrick.